Bahá’í Faith - An Introduction

This section covers some of the very basic points of knowledge about the Bahá’í Faith and serves as an introduction for the other topics. Bahá’u’lláh claimed that he had come to unite the world in one common faith. He said “the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens”. He explained that all religions are stages in the life of humanity, like classes in a school - each one takes us further than the one before, and this process will continue everlastingly into the future.

1.

What is the name of the elected world body which handles the affairs of the Faith?

The World Unity

The Social Development Council

The Universal House of Justice

The House of Progress

It meets in a beautiful building on Mount Carmel in Haifa.

2.

Who was the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith?

Bahá’u’lláh

`Abdu’l-Bahá

Shoghi Effendi

Siyyid Kázim

Bahá’u’lláh, in April 1863, declared that he was the Messenger of God for this age, and began to proclaim new, universal principles.

3.

Who was appointed by `Abdu’l-Bahá to be the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith after he passed away in 1921?

Shaykh Ahmad

Siyyid Kázim

William Sears

Shoghi Effendi

He was `Abdu’l-Bahá’s eldest grandson. He supervised the worldwide spread of the Faith. By the time Shoghi Effendi had died, the Bahá'í Faith had spread sufficiently around the world, enabling the election of a governing world body, as ordained by Bahá'u'lláh.

4.

In which year did the first British person become a Bahá’í?

1899

1912

1921

1935

Her name was Ethel Jenner Rosenberg. She was born in Bath, Somerset, but was living in London at the time.

5.

Whom did Bahá’u’lláh appoint as his successor?

Shoghi Effendi

Siyyid Kázim

`Abdu’l-Bahá

Shaykh Ahmad

He was Bahá’u’lláh’s eldest son. He had been with Bahá’u’lláh through all his exiles, and had a thorough understanding of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings and purpose. He succeeded Bahá’u’lláh in 1892, and while the Faith was in his care, it spread to Europe and North America.

6.

What is the most fundamental teaching of the Bahá’í Faith?

Justice

Unity

Honesty

Detachment

This means the unity of religions and the unity of humanity. Justice, honesty and detachment are, of course, all teachings of the Bahá’í Faith; however the establishment of unity is the underlying teaching. This is the most pressing need of the world today, for without it, we cannot achieve a lasting peace.

7.

Who was the Forerunner who prepared the way for Bahá’u’lláh?

The Báb

`Abdu’l-Bahá

Siyyid Kázim

Shaykh Ahmad

In 1844 in Iran, the Báb declared that his purpose was to prepare mankind for the coming of a new, universal religion from God. He was martyred in 1850.

8.

Bahá’u’lláh taught the principle of “Progressive Revelation”. What does this mean?

If we meditate, progressive ideas will be revealed to us

If we meditate, the road to progress will be revealed to us

We need to become progressively more spiritual

Religions progress from one to the next. Each religion is sent by God for a particular time, building on the one before

The phrase “Progressive Revelation” refers to Bahá’u’lláh’s explanation of the relationship between all the religions, which arose at different times and in different places.

9.

The Bahá’í calendar starts from which year?

1750

1844

1901

1923

The calendar is also known as the Badí calendar.

10.

Which is the second most widespread of the world’s religions? (This is measured by the number of countries with organised groups.)

Christianity

The Bahá’í Faith

Islam

Buddhism

Christianity is the most widespread religion of all. Information of this kind is obtained from specialist encyclopedias, and not from Bahá’í sources.

Author:
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom